


Divergence

by KoibitoDream



Series: TsukkiKage week 2016 [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Space, Best Friends, Established Relationship, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Secret Relationship, TsukkiKage Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-26
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-09-02 07:56:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8658772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KoibitoDream/pseuds/KoibitoDream
Summary: TsukkiKage week 2016





	

**Author's Note:**

> DAY 1 (November 26th ) : Fantasy / Sci-Fi

Expanding in the Universe had it's up sides and it's down sides. Earth could breathe again, that was an up side. Alliances with other Systems were made and broken, that was the down side.

A System more light years away than anyone could care to remember pissed of a System much nearer than they would have liked and they had to deal with it.

_In short, politics ruined everything._

Hovering over the Earth's orbit was fun and all, for a while, but give it enough time, it does get boring. Luckily, the time shift that sometimes occurred made things a bit easier to bare. Like right now, as he's floating on the bridge of the mechanics hangar, looking through the telescopic lens the screen was, observing a tiny T-Rex follow it's parent and getting stuck in the mud, wagging it's tail and trying to escape but eventually it falls down and protest until the parent arrives and pulls it out.

Or the way the Triceratops just swims around in the shallow pool, tugging at some plants along the way, splashing the smaller reptiles in the vicinity.

At least there's something to be seen, here and there, but when the time shift occurred and ripped a window in the age of the dinosaurs, that was Tsukishima Kei's favourite past time when there wasn't an emergency.

Just floating in the artificially created air, shifting between the scenes of the beginnings of the planet in search for something interesting. A volcano close up, a geyser erupting, an egg hatching, a baby dinosaur rolling around in it's nest, two baby dinosaurs rolling around in their nest, a pissed off parent dinosaur when something tries to get close...

A much better option than when the time shift rips open at some battle or the sorts. They had their own battles to fight.

Not that they didn't evolve, in a way, it's just that the think pattern of some humans still lacked.

His navigator, for example, had the neat ability to shift within space and shift others within it, too. That only went as far as trading places but it proved more than useful at times.

Speaking of whom, he should be done with the check up's on the _Omicron_. The medium speed model of the mobile fighting units they operate with, embedded with special materials that go together with his navigator's abilities.

Which he doesn't exactly like him using when they're needed most because the whole thing is too heavy and too big for him to shift so much around – he ends up either sleeping in the medical bay after that or is down in the science department in the stabiliser lest his molecules disperse from instability they shift into after a heavier case of exertion.

The down side of it is much more bearable now than it was some five years back and Tsukishima rather not think about it.

_He rather not remember the panic and worry everyone was drenched with while the rest of the base celebrated their victory. The fact the science bay used up half the ship's electricity to run down every possible and impossible test to make sure every single atom is where it should be. The way the air he breathed in made him sick as he waited for the damn light to switch from blue to green of the stabiliser chamber._

“Did it really just fall flat on it's face?” He hears a familiar voice behind him, half amused, half in disbelief as his blue eyes observe the screen.

He has an oil speck on his cheek, right under his eye. And he smudged it with his hand. How adorable. He can practically _see_ Sakusa weep and pull out a wet-wipe to get it off his face. Not that he's present right now – there's a meeting for the chief mechanics down on Earth he was obliged to attend.

“Yeah, they do that. Some prehistoric chickens also tend to run off a cliff just so.” He says, glancing at a Raptor trying to pull itself up from the crash.

“. _..did a meteor really cause their extinction?_ ”

“Hard to say, the time shift never opened up at that point.” He says, amused, as he pushes himself off the wall and onto the platform.

“Done with the check up?”

“Almost, but Yamaguchi sent me away, he can finish the rest up himself. The lines and connections are all in order as far as I'm concerned.” Kageyama says, trying to wipe the rest of the oil from his cheek, only making it worse.

“Stop, you're going to make Sakusa cry like that.” Tsukishima says as he moves his hand away from his face, getting a tissue from his pocket.

“Thanks.” He says as the last remaining drop of oil is removed from his skin. Not that it's going to harm him, but he was really close to get it into his eyes.

“How did you end up paired with Sakusa, all clumsy like that?” The taller of the two teases lightly as he tosses the tissue into the trash.

“He has more wet-wipes and skin care products than the kindergarten section and a better equipped first aid kit than the first medical bay.”

“I do not doubt that for a second.”

“Here to see Yamaguchi?” Kageyama asks as he checks the hologram of the unit, the part he's responsible for, enlarging a few white marked areas.

“...not really.”

“Don't worry, I won't mess with your seat configuration, I'm not that juvenile.” Kageyama rolls his eyes in mock annoyance as he rotates the command board.

“...it's not that.”

He walks the few steps separating them, leaning his forehead on his shoulder, placing his hand on a small spot hidden under his suit. The small spot going right through the middle of his clavicular bone and the rest of the tissue that isn't there any more – as if he were a three dimensional grid and someone simply erased that spot, leaving a pearly coloured membrane behind.

“ _I know every single inch of you..._ ” He speaks softly. “ _That_ wasn't there before.”

Kageyama turns off the hologram, cheeks heating up a bit, leaning against Tsukishima. The taller wraps his hands around his waist, mostly because he knows how much he likes being held there.

“What are they doing about it?”

Kageyama sighs softly; he knew he would ask that.

“They're working on it.” He says and immediately knows he won't like it. He doesn't either, but he can't do much about it for now.

“They're working on the Earth-Moon bridge, too.” Tsukishima frowns. Said Earth-Moon bridge was in construction some fifty years now and they had yet to lay down the foundations.

“Kei...”

“I know.” He says, turning him around to face him, connecting their foreheads.

“ _I just don't want you to disappear..._ ”

Five years back, he probably would have wished the opposite. _Oh, how things have changed from back then..._

“I won't.” Kageyama says, offering a smile. One of a rare kind, reserved just for him. It always managed to clam him down and this time is no exception either.

_Their eyes meet for a moment and Tsukishima pushes him gently against the wall, hands cupping his face, kissing him, slow and sensual, with just the right amount of force to make his head spin. He brushes his thumbs over the warm smooth skin, feeling the somewhat pointy edges of his dark silky hair, memorising the very texture of it, the degree of warmth his skin is and tends to become, the feel of his lips against his own, the sound of the small moan that escapes him..._

The moment is over too soon as they faintly register a pneumatic door make that familiar swish sound and Tsukishima moves away, ever so reluctant, but he knows how this station's _temporary_ upper tier views navigator/pilot relationships. Not that there aren't any, but it's all kept as low key as possible. He isn't the happiest with this station, but for the moment, it's the only one where Kageyama has all the help he can get until they figure out what's wrong with him _this_ time.

_No, wait, scratch that, the station itself is fine, it's the new management they got a few months back that needs to start thinking on their own instead of following a manual written by someone clearly in need of practical experience on a space station and the basics of human psychology._

It's going to stay like that at least for a few months more, until their own captains and commanders come back from a mission just past the quadrant of the System they're not in the best terms with to escort the few big shots from the System they're in good terms with but not with the one's they're passing by. _Gotta love Space politics._

“Hey Tsukki!” Yamaguchi smiles as he walks down the bridge with a wide smile and also a speck of oil covering his face. “Glad to see you around here. Your ship is ready for take off whenever.”

“Did the new control board fit?” Kageyama asks.

“Like it was made for it.” The freckled man says with a wink.

“Thank you. See you later.”

“Sure.” The mechanic says with a wide smile, but then drops it as Kageyama disappears behind the elevator doors.

“Tsukki, is he alright?” He asks his best friend, worry written all over him.

“I don't know, Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima sighs, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. “He's been in and out the med bay and the science lab more times than there are days in this month at the very least.”

“Is his molecular stability in question?” Yamaguchi arches a brow in question. Because he can't remember the last time Kageyama so much as sneezed.

“...could be.” Comes the answer that could easily be a plain old _yes_.

“I'm sorry, Tsukki.” He says quietly, reaching out and squeezing his shoulder.

“He's going to be fine.” And it sounds more like he's trying to keep himself believing in that more than he has the strength left to do so.

“Yeah, you're right.” Yamaguchi offers a reassuring smile. But as a mechanic dealing with the laws of space-shifting and knowing the things he does, he knows well enough what it means when a structure – any structure – starts losing it's stability. He just hopes to the higher plain that the brains in the science department are going to do something about it before it spirals out of control.

They don't need a repeat of what happened last time.

“So what do you think of the new management?” Yamaguchi asks, getting a wet-wipe to clean himself from the excess oils and grease as he walks down the bridge to the connection pod with Tsukishima, deciding to drop the matter with Kageyama for the time being.

Tsukishima merely rolls his eyes. He's become more expressive lately. But if Yamaguchi noticed it, he sure didn't mention it.

“I've heard less generic phrases come from a fortune cookie and more human behaviour from a medical bot downstairs.” He mutters, clearly unimpressed.

“It's only for a short while, though.”

“If you consider a few more months short, then yes.”

“Not exactly months...”

"Do tell.”

“Heard from Sakusa-san that our captains and team managed to locate the target last week.”

“That's great news.”

“Yes. They're scheduled back in two weeks time.”

Oh, thank God and the Universe. A few more months of this farce and he'd be starting a mutiny despite never so much as blinking when it was uncalled for.

“So what have you two been doing for two days now?” He asks, in a much better mood.

“Oh, you're going to love it.” Yamaguchi perks up even more as he all but runs past the hangar double doors, typing the pass-code. “Remember when I talked about the newest cabling system that reduces space-shifting stress that was developed?”

“Yes?”

“Sakusa-san sent in enough for the whole station and some more to spare and I rewired the whole thing.”

_He's so getting Sakusa the antiseptic lotion they use downstairs. And Yamaguchi's getting that little cow bot he mentioned being cute that time they were down on Earth on a vacation._

“Fill me in, please.” Tsukishima says as he shifts into his pilot suit. They walk into the hangar, where the _Omicron_ hovered over the ground, still connected by some dozen cables to Yamaguchi's diagnostic table.

“I suppose you won't be surprised to know that Kageyama doesn't have much difficulties with the new navigation system...” Yamaguchi says as he runs yet another system check because it absolutely _has_ to be perfect and Tsukishima only rolls his eyes with a small proud smirk on his lips.

Kageyama could have been a great pilot, with that ability of his and his reaction time. Hinata always said so. Why he chose to be a navigator is beyond anyone. Not that Tsukishima will ever complain about it.

“The whole unit is more thought sensitive, so be careful. Unless your navigator says so, keep it on the manual drive. The controls should be more smooth, so please see how they fit.” Yamaguchi instructs as Tsukishima sits down in the cockpit.

True to his word, Kageyama really didn't mess with his seat. Kind of disappointing. He had hoped be did. At least a bit. But yeah, on with the check with Yamaguchi.

“Now, I know how much you like your controls analogue-”

“-you didn't-”

“-so I made a hybrid between what you prefer and what Kageyama can deal with.” Yamaguchi ignores the protest as he smiles, knowing how much of a fuss Tsukishima can make when it comes to his controls. While most of the team switched to digital, Tsukishima stuck with handles and less screen than needed. Which was fine with Yamaguchi and Sakusa, they were experts in all things hybrid.

“The controls have a much larger maneuver filed and are also a bit more sensitive; I suggest you take a few hours of adjusting, lest Kageyama eats you up alive when you jerk, he shifts and you both end up about half a space mile off target.”

“ _...or a black hole..._ ” Yamaguchi adds more quietly, as he lets the computer run the electronic and electric parameters diagnostics.

_Very funny, Yamaguchi._

“So what does your new wiring do, exactly?” Tsukishima asks as he switches on everything he has to except the kinetic engine that would make the whole thing move.

“Requires a lot less effort on Kageyama's side, is the theory.” The mechanic says, watching as the numbers run in fifteen different tables. All in the span they should be, as predicted. Good. No cable out of place, so far.

“Sakusa-san explained it in detail, but I only got about half of it because it was two in the morning and I came back to my room like ten minutes before that. If you want, you can ask him the details when he gets here.”

“I'll take your word for it.”

“Okay. Aside from that, it should also improve everything concerning signals, conducting, speed, transmission time and be easy on the temperature.”

Once the numbers stopped spinning and the whole screen lit green, Yamaguchi gave the signal for the simulation training to start.

“I'm going to the cafeteria, want something?” He asks over the microphone.

“No, I'm good.”

“Okay. I'll switch you to CR, because I need to run the flight parameters. Take your time and I'll see you later.”

“Okay.”

 _He wasn't kidding when he said the whole thing was more sensitive._ What he failed to convey was how much exactly. The slightest shift on his part made the whole ship skip whole turn 360 a few times before he got the feeling on how much movement he should exercise. It was like trying to stack up cards made out of thin glass and hope they don't break between his fingers.

Luckily, he had two whole weeks to manage.

The biggest problem was that there was seemingly no resistance in the controls. He was so used to feeling the ship's weight and now it was as if there was nothing there. Damn, he never really thought about how difficult and straining it was for Kageyama to overwrite everything before he could shift them out of the crossfire. He had to shift every single atom, be it a static one constructing iron or a kinetic electron moving along the wires so they don't have to start up the ship every time he moved it.

Which was one of the absurdest things he heard the top demand. No wonder Kageyama was falling apart. Quite literally so. Starting up the ship after a shift demanded a fraction of a second and was automatic and with these new improvements, it should be even less. He'll have to ask Yamaguchi about it. Or better yet, Sakusa. That guy flipped when he heard what the top demanded and teleported back to Earth before the message could end.

A week later and they have parts and spare parts not even on the production line. He sure works fast. Tsukishima really wouldn't like to be on the receiving end of that outrage.

Yes, having abilities like space-shift is neat and all and it counted as one of the wider ranged and more powerful ones and one could really do wonders with it, but come on. Everything had a limit and so did they. Space-shift was deemed stable, once upon a time, but not used as frequent as Kageyama did for the past years. Or like the first time he nearly fell apart over it. As if losing a few people in the span of months wasn't alarming enough.

Two hours later, he decided to take a break.

“You weren't kidding when you said it was sensitive.” Tsukishima says as Yamaguchi returns from the cafeteria, carrying a cup of French fries and munching on them.

“Yep, that's the wonderful theory behind the science. The less obstacles Kageyama has to overcome, like the natural resistance of the materials used, the less strain it will cause. Also, the restart sequence is now fast enough not to be registered on the monitor.”

_Which was pretty darn fast. The monitor could pick up the spot where your nerve impulse jumped over the myelin coating before your brain could by a few hundred thousands time units Tsukishima never bothered to remember because there were some twenty when it came to the speed of electric impulses in the human nerve alone._

_That should keep the top happy and silent._

Like he said. Space-shift was great when you could do mediocre things with it. Kageyama wasn't so lucky with his. His control was supreme by most standards. The highest degree was too unstable and those who reached it spent their lives in stabilisation chambers because even after evolution did grant such things, there was still a limit. That limit in space-shift was the molecular stability of the one able to use it. The more it is used, the more unstable it gets. Unless you use it periodically and in the exact calculated time frame. Then, once the critical stage has passed, the limit moves by that much. _Too bad no one listened to scientists and preferred people in oversized test tubes instead._

_Bureaucratic morons._

_Whatever. They now had Sakusa to deal with. Tough luck._

_He just hoped the science department could do something about his state._

 

* * *

 

“I...have no idea what to tell you.” Sugawara says, not exactly proud of himself for that.

Kageyama's, once again, in the science department, linked with a few wires and shifting a cube and sphere at the same time, replacing them with other things and other small test activities he's so used to by now.

They have no idea as to what could they do to prevent him from breaking. They didn't know what to do five years back, they still don't know now. That one time they managed to put him back together was sheer dumb luck, as it turns out, because there's a patch of him missing as of the last stabilisation process. His molecular structure can take only so much polarisation, repolarization and depolarisation, not so technically speaking.

The more accurate description would be that there's a limit to how many times they can speed up the natural stabilisation process of his molecules before they absorb too much of that energy to stay stable.

Too dry, add water.

Too wet, dry out.

Repeat switching from one extreme to the other enough times and you get that neither is good for you.

The problem was, they were still missing that one thing, that one little thing that would solve the mystery of the space-shift and help stabilise those past stabilisation out of one of the two reasons. Like, back then, when humanity discovered genes. They knew everything about it and absolutely nothing at the same time. Same thing here.

Frustrating, not covering it.

They were starting to lose him. And it was their fault.

Kageyama shifts everything back into its place.

“It's fine, Suga-san.” He says, removing the wires from the base of his head and the spot under his ear. “You and I both know how people who can manipulate space end up. I'm still kind of surprised how I managed not to fall apart the first time around.”

He'd really like _not_ to fall apart, but he knows the reality of that wishful thinking.

“I can't give up on you, Kageyama-kun.” Sugawara smiles tiredly. “There's a reason why you're still here.”

“I know this is going to sound dumb considering where we are and what you do, but please, at least for the next two weeks, keep away from shifting.”

“I will.”

“I'll find a way, I promise.” Sugawara says, a determination rooted deep within. “Come back tomorrow and we'll see what your levels are after a day's rest, okay? You're going to make it through this one, too.”

“...thank you, Suga-san.”

“See you around. And _do_ rest.”

Kageyama offers a small genuine smile.

Who knows? A lot can happen in two weeks time. Maybe the deployed teams come with some news and Sakusa-senpai had yet to return, too. All he can do for now is rest.

He really didn't want to worry Tsukishima even more than he already was.

 

* * *

 

“I got the new sequence down.” Kei informs Tobio as he pulls him into a hug, placing a kiss on his forehead. One of the perks when you're the taller on in the relationship.

“I got off time.” Tobio says.

“How long?” Kei asks, not believing what he just heard, looking at him, arms securely around his waist.

“Two weeks.” Tobio confirms.

“Doctor's orders?”

“Doctor's orders.”

“ _When is you next appointment?_ ” He asks next, voice low.

“ _Tomorrow evening._ ”

“ _Good._ ” He murmurs against his neck. “ _I was thinking of something softer for tonight..._ ”

Tobio smiles softly.

“ _Were you?_ ”

“ _It's been a while since we both had the same week off._ ”

“ _You're right about that..._ ”

“ _So how about I help you out of this stuffy suit?_ ” Kei nips lightly at his shoulder, pulling at the fabric just a tiny bit.

“ _How about you kiss me first?_ ” Tobio asks, lifting his chin up.

“ _Sounds great._ ” The pilot grins as he leans in.

There's a brush of lips, soft and sweet.

“ _How's that?_ ” He whispers against his hips, enjoying the tingling feeling in his own.

“ _Can't tell._ ”

“ _No?_ ”

“ _You'll have to try again._ ”

“ _So demanding..._ ” He teases, leaning back in.

His fingers trace his spine, undoing the fabric of his suit, sliding it off his shoulders, eliciting a soft moan and he can't help but smirk into the kiss. He loved making him feel good, in whatever way he wanted.

The suits and communication devices are piled on the floor, forgotten for the time being, who cares who might have a question, they're off duty.

_Tsukishima Kei has other things on his mind. Like remembering what his boyfriend felt against him under a hot shower, with his wonderful legs wrapped around his waist and their lips parting, tongues sliding in a slow sensual dance, enough to make him feel light headed and leave him breathless._

_Rediscover how exactly ticklish he was when he would trace his fingers over his sides, but a faint brush against his skin as he licks, nips and kisses every inch of his skin available._

_Feel the heat rise as he leans down, licking up his inner thigh with a long slow drag of his tongue all the way up to his pelvic bone, only to be reminded he was ticklish there, too, as a soft laugh mixes with a low guttural moan._

_Hear the soft moans grow louder with every well placed lick and occasional light bite as he rims him, holding him steady when arches even further, feeling the sparks spread deep within his veins._

_See the blush dust over his skin, kiss abused lips part, face contort in pure ecstasy, as he moves his fingers just the way he likes it, pleasing him, teasing him, making him melt against him._

_Wipe at his own lips and taste the salty tinge from his fingers when he can't scream any more, undone._

_Marvel at the beautiful mess he has become, so wonderfully lax against the sheets, dark silk strands spilled all over the pillow, slowly coming down from the high._

_Yes, Tsukishima Kei has more important things to think about._

Waking up as the fist rays of the sun filter into the room with him comfortably nestled against him is something he's more than willing to experience any given day.

 

_And then he wakes up and the look in his eyes is enough to set his nerves on fire._

 

* * *

 

“..how-”

“Shut up.” Sakusa cuts the question short and the vice admiral temporary in command falls silent.

He and some others were to appear on the court-martial, but that hardly served any purpose now, even if some formalities were to be followed. Sugawara took a leave of absence, Yamaguchi was utterly lost, the captains and their commanders and lieutenants scattered across the fleet not two days after arriving back.

There were some repairs to be done, missing persons to be counted, damage on the ships inspected and dealt with and so many reports to be written, but it mattered little to the ones stationed on the 9-55-Deneb.

“ _Where's Kageyama?” Tanaka asked not five seconds after stepping his foot down in the landing hangar, Ennoshita, Nishinoya and Sawamura following suit, a wide grin on his face. They came back from their mission, armed with specially designed genetic and molecular stabilisation liquid granted by the High Council of the Besse-Teneri System they managed to help out with the diplomacy issues._

_Yamaguchi merely fell apart as the answer, wiping the smiles from everyone's face._

_Sawamura found Sugawara coped up in his lab, looking like hell ran him over twice and in reverse, despite being officially on leave._

“ _Suga...”_

_The white haired male looked up, eyes red, face pale and hands shaking slight._

“ _They didn't listen.” He says, voice shaking slight from pent up emotion. “I had him take a vacation because he wasn't alright. He began getting better, true, in mere fractions, but he was getting better. They didn't listen to me, Daichi.”_

_Tanaka almost kicked in the door, bewildered._

“ _Did they really send those two out because someone panicked over a few rogue ships?!”_

_Sawamura really hated his position of a captain right now._

“ _Suga...what happened?”_

“ _I don't know.” He started crying, face getting red. “Kuroo came back with just Tsukishima and he has several broken bones. He was out for five days and now he refuses to exist. Their ship is a pile of crumpled up metal. I have no idea where Kageyama is.”_

Point is, you _don't just slam the damn panic button because there's a ship flying towards you_ , as Tanaka so loudly put it, given the damn fleet had more than an adequate shield system for cases when more pilots were out than recommended.

Tanaka and Nishinoya got suspended, of course, in the span of what was fifteen seconds and a new record, even for them, but neither Sawamura nor Ennoshita could gather the strength to keep them in line. They couldn't bring themselves to care, either. This wasn't even an error, this was... _fuck if they know what this was._

Sakusa spent days and nights locked up in his quarters lest he threw someone into the vast vacuum just outside the walls _because Tobio would have been disappointed with him for being prosecuted as if he killed an actual human being._

Tsukishima...

_No one dared to even go there._

 

* * *

 

_The lights turned green on the screen._

_Sugawara Koushi was the first to run towards it, worried out of his wits, relief washing over him as Kageyama opens his eyes._

“ _How are you feeling?” He asks, eyes searching the monitors above the stabilisation chamber, all looking – good. “Nauseous? Light headed? Dizzy? Sleepy?”_

“ _Hungry.” Kageyama says, blinking a few times, making Sugawara smile. Even if he didn't mean to._

“ _We'll get to that.” He says, grinning widely. “Let me just run a few check ups.”_

“ _Sure...”_

_It's past two in the morning but the whole team is in the kitchen, marvelling at how Kageyama munches on his food – the cook made his favourite in an absurd quantity, but even if Sugawara was worried he might go overboard, Kageyama had obviously no problems with the amount. Sugawara assured Sawamura he still had a normal sized stomach and that he actually consumed less than his peers upon waking up from a state as critical as his was a few hours earlier. He was still banned from the party, though, not that he felt up for it. Weariness and exhaustion wash relatively quickly and this time, he won't wait until he passes out mid hallway, giving half the science staff a heart attack._

_Tanaka and Nishinoya promised they would party out his share, too, practically snuggling him before they went their ways._

“ _Take it easy for a while.” Sugawara says as he decides to hit the pillows. Usually, he would be staying in the science department for at least two more days. Sugawara gave him some leeway still, seeing how his quarters weren't that far, just around the corner and sleeping in a more comfortable environment did ease it up on some people._

“ _Remember to turn on the blue light or I'm placing you in the chamber for another week.”_

“ _I'll be sure to remember it.”_

_As much as the chamber helped, being out the whole time wasn't all that pleasant. He was grateful the blue light had a calming shade, not too bright nor too dark._

_Not like his pilot would complain._

_He had no idea where Tsukishima even was._

_True, it was stupid and against all instinct that screamed at him not to suddenly shift like that. Taking nearby ships along with them as well. Overdoing it by a long shot and feeling himself disintegrate on the edges. Not pleasant, but not that bad either, if he had to put it in words._

_It was...kind of like what would dissolving in water feel like. He couldn't exactly describe it, but he's pretty sure that's what it feels like. There is no physical sense of it, just the surrounding quivers of different wave lengths. Kind of lying on a water surface and feeling a wave pass, only you're both you and the wave?_

_He should stop trying to find the right words, it caused him enough headaches._

_Not that Sugawara or the mechanics downstairs would appreciate hearing how it feels like when you're falling apart – no, not even the science department would be all too keen to find out. Most of them had too many experiences to remain all that curious._

“ _The hell are you doing here?!”_

_Well, good morning to you, too, he thinks as he stops just short of reaching the door of his room, finger not an inch from the finger print scanner._

“ _It's my room?”_

 _He can hear something in Tsukishima snap. To be clear, he knows exactly what he meant, but it's too early for that discussion now. Though, there_ is _something he would like to know, too._

_But Kageyama's knees decide the time was right to give out. Tsukishima has him, of course._

“ _Med bay?”_

“ _No, just...”_

_Whoa, talk about crashing from exhaustion. Maybe he should have just slept it off in the science department._

“ _Blue light?” He hears Tsukishima ask through a haze, not sure what actually got to him first – the familiar exhaustion or the reality of...what happened not moments ago._

_He nods, all things aside, grateful he was there._

_Kageyama's not entirely sure what Heaven looks like – he just hopes it has a comfy bed and something close to the blue light, washing over him, making him relax. This type of exhaustion is rather familiar – not too far from the one he feels after the usual using of his abilities. Give it a few hours and he'll be as good as new. What a twist._

_Unfortunately, instead of him falling asleep, his mind decides to wake up instead._

“ _...you didn't just...” Tsukishima just barely hears him speak from where he sits next to the bed, half on alert to call for Sugawara._

“ _I didn't just what?”_

“ _...you didn't just stop by because you're happy you won't have to go through a navigator selection program, did you?”_

_That's a valid reason, by all accounts. The selection program was a nightmare, put simply._

“ _...no.” He says, albeit reluctantly._

_It's rather strange, seeing him like that. Looking so...unsure and as if he wanted to say something but...couldn't. Between them, he was the one who knew his way with words._

“ _What possessed you to go all out like that?” Tsukishima asks, quietly, stopping him from slipping into sleep. Interesting, he didn't even realise it._

“ _I tried avoiding a hit.” He says, half asleep. Since when did he have such a calming effect on him?_

“ _...we've been hit before.”_

“ _Why are you here, Tsukishima?” He slips, without thinking._

_Normally, Tsukishima goes about his business the moment they park the ship. Then again, lately, they've...changed some things...or partly Tsukishima, to be more accurate, as the pilot made sure he could stand after a mission, but that still-_

_A pair of lips against his own cut off the train of thought._

_..._

_Did he fall asleep already?_

_No, he clearly feels the hands cupping his face and their temperature, so pleasantly hot, and Tsukishima's clearly kissing him-_

_Wait._

“ _I thought I lost you.” He says, voice gentle and soft and this is the first time he hears him talk like that._

_Sugawara-san must have used some new drugs on him. There is no way this would happen otherwise. Okay, so he had a thing for his pilot, God knows why, but he did, and that may have not been the best idea he's ever had, minus the most recent stunt with the space-shift-_

“ _Oh, now you're blushing?” Tsukishima asks with that familiar tease._

_Though, he's not looking all that smug as usual either._

_Maybe he should say something._

 

“ _...what?”_

_Close enough. It's coherent, at least._

_And now it's Tsukishima's turn to fall silent and feel awkward, it seems, going by the way he looks like he just realised something._

“ _Oh...” He begins, not sure of anything any more. “I...”_

_Well this is really awkward._

_Then again, it's just them._

 

* * *

 

 

He came to in the medical bay, completely disoriented and mind blank for a while. Which wasn't that unusual, considering the pain medication and his injuries.

They didn't tell him – they couldn't – but he knew.

Kageyama wasn't there.

That was the first thought the first time he came to.

The rest of his intensive care in the med bay was shifting in and out of consciousness, with a few familiar faces in between. Yamaguchi, Daichi, Tanaka, Nishinoya, Asahi from the science department...

The day he managed to stay awake for a few hours, Sakusa visited, looking as dead as he felt. They didn't say a word to each other, there was no need to.

Yamaguchi was the sweetest soul in the Universe, during his stay in the hospital. Crying the tears he couldn't. Bringing a bit of life in that room he just didn't have. Trying to convey a comfort he barely felt.

The cuts and bruises faded with time, only the right arm was left to heal, along with his shoulder and those two ribs. Trying to move didn't feel like he was trying to move lead that ripped at his nerves.

He autopiloted through some questions people had to ask regarding what he remembered.

He remembered everything up until one point. Then there was a blank and he woke up in the med bay.

That one point was then cleared a few days later.

 

Tsukishima ended up in the med bay for the second time. He remembered.

 

* * *

 

“ _Kei...” Kageyama called._

_He couldn't hear, he was unconscious._

_Kageyama gripped his wrist tighter, trying to pull him up, ignoring the pain of a no doubt few broken bones but something else knocked the air out of his lungs._

_His right arm lost contact with the ground of a cliff they crashed against, with one of the rogue ships, shifting out of the solid structure and he could feel Tsukishima slipping away._

_He forced what was left of his shift focus and switched their places._

_Kuroo found Tsukishima lying on the ground, unconscious and with a bloody forehead, but there was no sign of Kageyama anywhere._

 

* * *

 

“Suga-san...” Yamaguchi heaved as he all but crashed into his door. “...have you seen Tsukki?”

Sugawara lost the grip on his mug and it shattered against the floor.

 

* * *

 

_There's a knock on Sakusa's door in the middle of the night. He moves to open it._

“ _You should be resting-”_

“ _I know where he is.”_

 

* * *

 

Were it anyone else, they would have most likely shipped him off to a psychiatry ward back on Earth. Sakusa liked to check his facts _before_ such drastic measures.

Upon reaching it, the hangar where the ship hovered in its _parking place_ was bathed in a soft glowing light of a soothing blue shade. The mechanic knew for a fact that none of the hangars _had_ such lights.

The mechanic punched in the fast entry code, opening the door.

Sure enough, there he was, looking quite comfortable in what was left of the pilot-navigator cockpit, with the blue light not exactly being a light per say, but more of a liquid substance, filling out the cavity. They both seen how a stabilisation chamber looks like, but this was far more advanced. He slept peacefully enveloped by that liquid, even breathing evenly, as if there was nothing there.

Tsukishima reached out, slipping through it easily. Form the outside, Sakusa arched a brow when the surface got more solid, changing the optic density, making it no longer see through.

_Oh, well._

Tsukishima found Kageyama. The rest can wait until morning, as far as he's concerned. That blue stuff seemed harmless enough. He might inform Yamaguchi and Sugawara, though.

_In, say, an hour._

 

* * *

 

_This stuff was more spacious on the inside, Tsukishima notes, wincing. It's rather unpleasant, feeling your bones and ligaments and everything else not sitting right move back into place and heal up._

_Though, the most therapeutic effect by far was seeing Kageyama again._

_All in one piece._

 

* * *

 

Three weeks later, Tsukishima still finds Yamaguchi and Sakusa wrapped around Kageyama in what became their weekly afternoon nap time on Saturday afternoons.

Not that he minds.

They're rather cute, all piled up like that.

His molecular structures were stable again, much to everyone's relief. Though, there was a new addition to his abilities.

Other than the usual shifts, he could manipulate the optical density of himself and others and most importantly, he could alter the frequency on which he and others existed.

The last one was known only by a select few.

Tsukishima was, of course, the first one to know because,

“I want to show you something.” Kageyama says as Tsukishima steps foot into his room. He has no time to properly react when Kageyama takes his hands and pulls them through the wall, _outside, in space_.

“What the-”

He could breathe? When did he-

“Please don't tell anyone about this.” He says, wrapping his arms around his waist. He _really doesn't_ want to know how creative the commanding top back on Earth would become if they ever got wind of this neat little trick.

“I won't.” Kageyama smiles softly, threading his fingers through Tsukishima's hair. “Just know that I'll keep you safe without putting myself in danger this way.”

Tsukishima leans in and kisses him.

 

_Probably the first kiss in space in this context._

 

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy!


End file.
